Hibernians, Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans, all past FA Trophy winners, are among eight teams vying for a berth in the quarter-finals of this season's knock-out competition when the second round matches are played this weekend at the Centenary Stadium.
The six top-flight sides involved in the early rounds of the FA Trophy - the best four-placed teams in the Premier League last season enter the frame at the quarter-final stage - made light work of their Division One opponents in the initial round but for most of the members of the elite division, sterner tests lie in wait in the second round.
While Hibernians and Floriana have justified cause to be optimistic of making further progress, given that both have again been paired with Division One teams, Tarxien Rainbows, Msida St Joseph, Qormi and Ħamrun Spartans will be engaged in direct clashes.
Judging by the lively performances in their last few matches, Tarxien and Msida should provide entertaining fare when they go head to head in today's opening match, starting at 1.30 p.m.
Brazilian striker Daniel Mariano Bueno scored a hat-trick to fire the Rainbows into the second round after a 4-2 victory over Mqabba. For their part, Msida eased past San Ġwann to the tune of 3-0.
Msida will take heart from their 1-0 defeat of Tarxien in their first league meeting this season but Noel Coleiro, the Rainbows coach, craves revenge for that upset.
"We lost to Msida in the league but the result was harsh on us," Coleiro told The Times.
"I felt we could have taken something from that match, especially when considering that we had a legitimate goal disallowed by the referee in the final stages.
"We are on a par with Msida. They have a strong forward line as Brazilian striker Marcos Aurelio is very fast and his fellow countryman, Pedro Dos Santos Calcado, is a clever and skilful player who is dangerous from free-kicks.
"It's in defence where Msida are perhaps lacking a bit and I believe that we can cause them a few problems there."
A growing casualty list means Coleiro can't pick his best team today.
Lino Galea, Pio Sciriha, Malcolm Buttigieg and Luke Vella Critien are struggling with injuries and captain Manuel Caruana has been laid low by flu. On the plus side, Andrew Decesare has recovered from injury and could be in the team today.
Patrick Curmi, the Msida coach, pointed at Brazilian striker Bueno as Tarxien's most potent attacking weapon.
"It's going to be a difficult game," Curmi said.
"Tarxien are on a high after recording a series of positive results lately but I guess that also applies to us. Both teams are going through a good spell and this raises the prospect of an attractive cup match.
"We need to keep a close eye on Tarxien striker Bueno because he's been on fire lately.
"If we manage to maintain the momentum we showed in the last few matches, I'm confident that we can win. We will give our all to clear this hurdle and reach the quarter-finals because the FA Trophy means a lot for a small club like Msida. Having reached the final a few years back and the semi-finals two seasons ago, Msida have developed a special affection for this competition."
Curmi can rely on a full compliment today.
The second tie between two Premier League teams will take place tomorrow (kick-off 4 p.m.) when Qormi lock horns with Ħamrun Spartans.
With a quarter-final slot at stake, the two neighbours are widely expected to go into this match with all guns blazing knowing also that a win would boost their morale ahead of their upcoming Premier League matches.
Ħamrun's 3-1 win over Rabat Ajax in the first round, their first in any competition this season, ensured a happy debut for coach Steve D' Amato who took over from Marco Gerada last month.
Qormi came from a goal down to beat Pietà Hotspurs 3-1 last Sunday. With a daunting league fixture against champions Valletta looming large, coach Jesmond Zerafa knows that this is a delicate time for his team.
"The moment of truth has arrived," Zerafa said.
"The FA Trophy match against Ħamrun is the first in a series of key matches for Qormi with champions Valletta up next in the league a week later.
"I hope that my team begins to show its true potential. Our aim is to go as far as possible in the knock-out competition and we all know that with a bit of luck, even a small team can make it to the final.
"Also, a good result from this match would set us up nicely for the league match against Valletta."
Zerafa has no significant injury problems but Brazilian defender Alex Noronha is still sidelined for the Spartans with an Achilles injury. Otherwise, D'Amato has a full squad at his disposal.
"Qormi will surely give us a stronger challenge than Rabat did in the first round," D'Amato said. "It's going to be another difficult outing but we're prepared for it.
"Victory over Rabat has helped to instil some much-needed confidence in our players."
For the second time in a week, Hibernians will cross swords with a team from the Cottonera area. Vittoriosa Stars, who along with St Patrick are the only Division One survivors in this season's FA Trophy, will try to succeed where neighbouring rivals St George's failed last week after the latter went down 2-0 to the Paolites in the first round.
Needless to say that Hibs are surefire favourites to book their place in the last eight but they would do well not to underestimate Vittoriosa who have already created an upset by knocking out the more-quoted Mosta in the first round thanks to an Anthony Eviparker double.
Mark Miller, the Hibs coach, is still hampered by injuries to key players, including Uruguayan midfielder Christian Callejas, but hopes to give some valuable playing time to Rumen Galabov, who has entered the final stage of his rehab from a long-term injury. Adrian Pulis has yet to fully recover from a hamstring problem but could be named in the squad.
Floriana entertain St Patrick in tomorrow's opening match (2 p.m.).
Zoran Popovic, the Floriana coach, is not expected to make significant changes from the team that cruised past Dingli Swallows 3-0 last weekend.
For his part, St Patrick coach Winston Muscat will be without Thomas Caruana after the latter received a one-match ban for his red card in the 3-2 victory over Senglea Athletic in the first round.